Five on Friday: Tulips, Thrift Store Finds, and Other Thoughts

"There is so much peace that comes with

learning to live comfortably with what we have,

with feeling a sense of enoughness..."

@the lukhouse on Instagram

Happy Friday... and the First Day of March! Even with the extra day in February, the month has flown by in a hurry. We've had a quiet week, hunkering indoors during a snowstorm. Have been sorting through my materials possessions, of which I seem to have quite a few. I sure am a lucky/blessed girl!

Of late, Rick and I have been pondering our future plans for the next few years—my 70th and his 80th are approaching although they are a ways off but the days are ticking—as we begin thinking about downsizing and eventually moving to a smaller place. Although plans are in the embryonic stage, afar off, yet still I feel equipped to consider what I should do with my things, and especially what I can at last let go of because I have a foreseeable, tangible path ahead. I truly want to be the caretaker of fewer items. To have more time for loved ones instead of things. More time for my writing and self-care as health issues start to creep in. To keep only what still makes my heart happy and continues to make daily life for us comfortable and cheering. Already it gets easier in my mind to start letting go. And I begin to feel at peace, as the quote above says, to live comfortably with what we have, with that very real sense of 'enoughness'. I love that word. To recognize our own sense of enoughness in this stage of life. We start small... clearing out one small pile, one drawer, a single cupboard... revisiting the equipment and tools we no longer use or need, realizing our memorabilia doesn't need to be held so tightly, that maybe we don't need all the touchstones we once thought we couldn't live without.

Enough pondering on that for now... here is this week's edition of Five on Friday. I hope you enjoy.

   

One. Outside My Window

I peer out my study window into sunless skies awash in pearl grey. Tree branches stand in stark contrast while shrubs bounce with the flurry of birds eager for nourishment. Blustering north winds shape small snowdrifts on the neighbour's roof. And there's talk of more snow this afternoon. Although I think they jest, for isn't that a wee glimmer over there that feels like maybe the sun could peek out? (Note added later... forget the sunshine, it's getting grimmer and greyer and blusterier as we type.)

Two. Inside My House

Rick and I just had a mid-morning break. He's been painting the closet in his den, and I'm working on today's post. We enjoyed a small cup of coffee (my first of the day) with a toasted hot cross bun and a bit of Havarti cheese. It was yum; I feel sated. My inner world feels brighter.

And I'm admiring the wee picture (above) I found at the thrift store for three dollars. I fell in love and my fingers reached for it without a second thought. Methinks Madam Bunny is pleased too.

Three. Thrift Store Book Haul

First, I dropped off a bag of items for donation at the thrift shop. Then I went round into their shop to check out the book section. In less than 15 minutes, my arms were loaded with these finds (I should have stopped for a shopping basket):

- Mrs. McGinty's Dead by Agatha Christie (Poirot mystery)

- Dead Man's Folly by Agatha Christie (I read all the Miss Marple novels last year, now I thought I'd read through some of the Poirot mysteries.)

- Agent in Place by Helen MacInnes (espionage novel set in the 1970s. I read something of hers last autumn 'While We Still Live' which I found beautifully written, thrilling, and thoughtful. Look forward to reading this one.)

- Gaudy Night and Busman's Honeymoon by Dorothy L. Sayers (These were on my 'to find' list. I've been reading about the author's life lately and so I want to reread her Wimsey novels); 

- Romancing Miss Brontë by Juliet Gael (historical fiction novel about Charlotte Brontë); 

- A Long Shadow by Charles Todd (Inspector Rutledge mystery set in post-World War I);

- The Best of James Herriot (a lovely collection of excerpts from his books that he 'almost never wrote' along with other material about him and some lovely photographs of the Yorkshire Dales).

Undoubtedly you will recognize, as I have done, the thrilling sensation Kate Morton describes so aptly in her novel Homecoming: "As Jess stepped out of the shop and onto the pavement, she was filled with the lightness of spirit and free-floating sense of possibility that always claimed her when she had a brown paper bag containing new books under her arm." E.x.a.c.t.l.y !

Four. Tulips on the Dining Table 

A breath of spring on this dullish day. How these tulips cheer the place up and make me smile every time I walk past them. Tulips bulbs are still worth their weight in gold; thankfully they are within easy reach of my much slimmer purse. 😉

Five. Wise Thought from Susan Branch

"Try and fall in love with as many things as possible, every day things like the dawn, the moon, the way your flannel shirt feels, clothes warm from the dryer, singing in the car, the first words to a delicious new book, hot brownies and cold milk . . . take nothing for granted; that way all your days will feel like miracles." 

❦

On that sparkling note, I'm wishing you a beautiful weekend,

Brenda

Photo credit:

Today's photos are mine